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Foreign Nationals

The Vienna Convention was ratified by the USA in 1969. Article 36 states: "…if he so requests,
the competent authorities of the receiving State shall…inform the consular post of the sending
State if…a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison…The said authorities shall
inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this sub-paragraph."

Among other crucial functions, consular assistance serves to protect a defendant's legal rights to
a fair trial, including the right to prepare an adequate defense, to understand the nature of the
charges, to have the assistance of an interpreter, and the right not to be compelled to confess or
to testify against oneself.

Sixteen foreign nationals have been executed by the U.S. since 1988. Virtually none of them had
been informed upon arrest of their rights to communicate with their consular representatives. In
12 of these cases, the consular notification issue was raised on appeal and dismissed, allowing
the execution to proceed.

In October 1999, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that the executions of
foreign nationals who were not informed of their consular rights are an "arbitrary deprivation of
life," requiring a remedy under International law.

On April 26, 2000, the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution urging all states
that still maintain the death penalty to:

"…observe the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty
and to comply fully with their international obligations, in particular with those under the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations."

At least 105 foreign nationals are currently on death row in 17 U.S. states. The vast majority is
from Mexico, which has been abolitionist for ordinary crimes since 1937.

Sample cases:

On June 18, 1997, Texas executed Irineo Tristan Montoya, a Mexican national who, without the
presence of an attorney, had signed a confession written in English, a language he neither read,
spoke, nor understood. Texas authorities, fully aware of Montoya's nationality, had failed to
inform him of his right to consular access. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on the violation
of the Vienna Convention was dismissed without comment.

In February 1999, Karl and Walter LaGrand, two German brothers, were executed in Arizona.
Local authorities, aware of their nationality, had failed to inform the brothers of their right to
consular access. Germany brought suit against the USA in the International Court of Justice
(ICJ). The ICJ held public hearings on the case in November 2000.

On July 20, 2001, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating announced that he was refusing to
commute the death sentence of Mexican national Gerardo Valdez Maltos, in spite of a
recommendation by the state pardons board that the sentence be commuted to life imprisonment.
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Although Oklahoma authorities were aware of his nationality at the time of his arrest more than
a decade ago, Valdez was never informed of his consular rights and Mexican authorities only
became aware of the case in April of this year.

- Amnesty International USA (6/11/02)

Abolition History

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